Situated in a remote corner of the kingdom, on the coast of Kent, about 18 miles from Dover, is this our new military establishment, of the existence of which the great majority of the public are probably not aware. It owes its origin to the introduction of the Minié rifle into the army, and has been established little more than a year and a half, or since April 1853. Guided by his experience of our military system, the Commander-in-Chief judged that, if it were left to the commanding officers of regiments to see that the men under them were properly instructed in the use of the new weapon, he should fail of securing throughout the army that uniformity of practice so essential to the efficiency of the service, and advised the creation of a special establishment which might serve at once as a training school for our infantry and marines.
Archives
Hythe School of Musketry
INDEX. The School of Musketry was established at Hythe, in Kent, in 1853.
Chalons – The Camp
At present, in respect of arms and riflemen, England is in advance of the armies of the world. The Enfield rifle, in accuracy, workmanship, and general efficiency, is the best weapon carried by any soldier. Other arms are looming in the distance which will be to it what it was to Brown Bess. Indeed there seems no definite limit to projectile power. Whether the powers of man to use it will keep pace with its progress, will be the next problem. At present, man is up to the mark of the weapon – in fact, trained marksmen show an ability to shoot and hit at distances where, as a rule, the Enfield begins to fail in accuracy.
The Perils of Hand Loading and How to Wrap Bullets
D. & J. Fraser of Edinburgh introduced their falling block match rifle in 1881. The rifle was tried by several Scottish riflemen in the selection shoots for the Scottish Eight to compete for the Elcho Shield. The rifle gained popularity and six of the Scottish Eight eventually competed using the Fraser rifle that year. Management of the breech loading match rifle was still new to some at the time, the muzzle loader long being favoured despite the success of the American Teams using breech loaders in long range international competition since 1874. The perils of hand loading were still being discovered.
Manufacture of The Copper Percussion Cap
The manufacture of percussion-caps. The first process in this light and delicate work is the stamping of sheet-copper into pieces of the required form to make the caps. For this purpose the copper is placed beneath the punch of the machine, and immediately it is put into action, small crosses of metal are seen to fall from it into a box in a continual stream, whilst the sheet itself is transposed by the punching process into a kind of trellis work.
Indian Mutiny Long Shots
This short account is extracted William Forbes-Mitchell’s ‘Reminiscences of the Great Mutiny 1857-59’. It provides some interesting first hand comment on the effect of shooting a fouled muzzle loading Enfield rifle, and on the effectiveness of long range volley fire on artillery crews
Life in a Crimea Rifle Pit
This letter extract is reprinted from the Morning Chronicle (London), Monday 14 May 1855. It provides an interesting first hand account of life in a rifle pit during the Crimean War. Of particular note is the long range marksmanship with the newly issued Enfield rifle, together with comment on shooting in conjunction with a spotter whilst firing upon gunners.
Elcho Shield Rifles, 1878
American riflemen using their breech loading rifles in long range competition beat Ireland at Creedmoor (USA) in 1874 and again at Dollymount (Ireland) in 1875. In the Centennial Match of 1876 at Creedmoor they were again successful beating teams from Australia, Canada, Ireland and Scotland. A Great Britain team was also beaten at Creedmoor in 1877. Despite this British riflemen were slow to adopt the breech loader for match rifle shooting.
Hints for Long Range Riflemen
Horatio Ross’ letters encouraging Scotsmen desirous of “becoming a first-class shot” were published in the press. This advice is still relevant today and worthy of study by the long range rifleman.
The Creedmoor Era
INDEX. In the latter part of the 19th century the Creedmoor Rifle Range, Long Island, New York, USA, was the venue for a number of international long range rifle matches that received widespread public interest and much press coverage.
First Hints On Rifle Shooting: Wind
from ‘First Hints On Rifle Shooting’ by A.P. Humphry (William Clowes and Sons, London, 1876). Alfred Paget Humphry (1850-1916) was the Queen’s Prize Gold Medal winner in 1871 and represented Great Britain in the GB Rifle Volunteers vs US National Guard competitions of 1882 & 1883.
Obituary: William Ellis Metford
William Metford worked closely with the Bristol gunmaker George Gibbs, the manufacturer of the Gibbs-Metford muzzle loading match rifle and the later Farquarson-Metford breech loading rifle. This obituary was published in Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, in 1900.